Francesco Farioli faces a hoodoo that’s lingered since Villas-Boas | OneFootball

The season has been favorable for FC Porto: in 11 matches, they have achieved 10 victories and only one draw, which occurred when hosting Benfica. However, the winning culture that is being reestablished in the blue and white universe masks a less dominant version of Francesco Farioli’s team in European competitions: the Dragons defeated Salzburg and Red Star, but the decisive goals only came in the final moments.

In Austria, William Gomes broke the deadlock in the 93rd minute; against the Serbian champions, Rodrigo Mora sealed the win in the 89th minute. Whether with more or less suffering, Farioli’s team already has six points after two rounds in the Europa League and now faces the possibility of ending a drought that has lasted more than 14 years.

Since 2011, FC Porto has not won three consecutive matches in Europe’s second-tier competition. At that time, the coach was the current president, André Villas-Boas, and the Dragons even managed to string together five consecutive victories in a campaign that culminated with winning the trophy in Dublin. Since then, Porto’s Europa League campaigns have been marked by underwhelming performances or great inconsistency.

Between 2010/11 and the current season, the blue and whites have participated in seven editions of the competition—only two starting from the group stage—and have failed to live up to the club’s history. In 2024/25, for example, FC Porto was unable to win two consecutive matches and ended up being eliminated in the play-off for access to the round of 16 against Roma.

The two victories already achieved in this group stage are encouraging and open up the possibility of breaking that so-called curse, especially since Thursday’s opponent is going through a difficult period. Nottingham Forest has not won since August 24, has suffered four consecutive defeats, and has only one point in the Europa League, resulting from a draw with Betis. At first glance, this scenario seems to favor FC Porto, but one fact remains to be considered: the Dragons have never won on English soil.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.